We’re going to start this off the way the original story from Jason Whitlock at Fox Sports.com should have, and that’s by stating the obvious: It’s extremely unlikely LeBron James would seek the presidency of the players union now, or at any time while still in the prime of his NBA career.

In fact, here’s the most relevant quote from the story, which in all honesty should have been the opening paragraph of the piece instead of the fifth.

The source close to James cautioned that he thinks it’s “unlikely” James will decide to seek the presidency.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can discuss the rest.

James is passionate about union matters, and has an interest in steering the league’s business in a direction that will not only benefit this generation of NBA players, but future generations, as well. He was a leader in the mid-season union meeting and a strong voice during the lockout. With the National Basketball Players Association in a state of transition, the thinking is that now may be the time to get involved in an official capacity.

“It’s something he has talked about with a small group of people,” a source with close ties to James told FOXSports.com on Wednesday. “He was very vocal at the meeting during the All-Star Weekend about the need for the union to dramatically change. There is a new executive director coming in and new commissioner. He recognizes that this is the time for the union to change.”

It’s been over a decade since an All-Star caliber player was the union president, when Patrick Ewing held the post from 1997-2001. But those were years 14, 15, and 16 of Ewing’s 17 in the league — he was far beyond his prime, and demands on his time had dipped considerably.

This is the core issue, and the reason someone like James could never successfully handle the duties of union president while flourishing as the game’s best player simultaneously. In addition to his teams regularly playing into June each season, LeBron’s schedule is packed with other engagements representing the league, as well as personal endorsement deals that require various trips and appearances.

There’s a reason guys like Derek Fisher and Maurice Evans were so prominently involved in union issues recently, with Jerry Stackhouse handling things so far this offseason. To put it bluntly, they don’t have a whole lot going on outside of their regular team responsibilities, which are fairly limited at this late stage of their respective careers.

It’s great to see that James is looking out for his co-workers in this way, and that he truly has an interest in creating a legacy that will last beyond the game itself. Just don’t expect him to hold the title of president, or be involved in any other official capacity until his playing career is close to being finished.

A few years back in Philadelphia, the athletic K.J. McDaniels was a highlight factory and looked like a guy who could develop into a role player on the wing in the NBA.

Except, he never actually developed. Houston gave him a chance (three years at a total of $10 million), and it didn’t work out, then last season Brooklyn had him for 20 games, but they decided to move on.

Now Toronto is going to give him a chance, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

McDaniels’ agent later confirmed the news. This is a training camp, make-good contract for McDaniels. But unlike a lot of those contracts being handed out around this time, there is space on the Raptors roster for a player or two.

Before the KJ McDaniels partial, Toronto had $116.6M in guaranteed salary with 13 players + the $100K partial of Alfonzo McKinnie.

McDaniels will compete with Alfonzo McKinnie, Kennedy Meeks, and Kyle Wiltjer for one of the final roster spots in Toronto. Of that group, I’d most likely want to keep McDaniels because of the shot blocking and his potential — but his outside shot has to improve.

The Raptors can carry 15 on the roster and very possibly will until at least Jan. 10, which is the date these partially guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed for the season. Toronto is flirting with the tax line, and ownership is not going to want to pay the tax for this team, so if they do carry 15 they likely will cut it to 14 by that date.

The #DriveByDunkChallenge has been a fun distraction this summer. If you don’t know what it is, it essentially involves NBA players jumping out of their cars to dunk on regular folks on community basketball hoops.

There are still some serious doubts about whether the Celtics will be able to unseat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, but perhaps they won’t need to wait for long. Rumors are starting to trickle in about LeBron James leaving Ohio, so maybe by the time we are used to seeing Hayward in Celtics green next season they will have less competition out east.

It appears as though Houston billionaire Dan Friedkin will have some competition if he decides to bid for the Rockets. Namely, former NBA big man Dikembe Mutombo.

Mutombo played in the NBA from 1991-2009, ending his career with five seasons in Houston. The franchise apparently made an impact on the Hall of Fame center, as he is apparently looking to buy the franchise per an interview with USA Today.

Speaking with Adi Joseph over at FTW, Mutombo would not give out names of his partners but said that he will be able to make a bid in the coming weeks.

“I’m putting together a group to buy the Houston Rockets, and we’re getting close,” he said. “Getting close in the next couple weeks, maybe I’ll have a chance. Lot of people, lot of people and good people with a lot of money.”

With Leslie Alexander’s decision to sell the team, it certainly would be interesting to get another NBA player as part of team ownership in this league.